Roberts: Arizona legislator wants to outlaw disguises at public events

More than 100 protesters gathered outside the Scottsdale office of U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., to protest "Trumpcare" and support the Affordable Care Act on May 10, 2017. Alejandro Barahona/azcentral.com

Laurie Roberts: That phony mustache could land you in prison, under a bill being proposed by Rep. Jay Lawrence.

Chris Fleischman wears a mask as he protests near the office of U.S. Rep. David Schweikert in Scottsdale on May 10, 2017. A handful of "die-in" protests were held around the state that day to protest House Republicans' passage of the American Health Care Act.(Photo: David Kadlubowski/The Republic)

There are good reasons to wear a mask

Paul Duddy shows off his mask at the Zombie Walk in Phoenix.(Photo: Melina Zuñiga)

Lawrence’s knee-jerk heart appears to be in the right place. No sane person can condone violence or the cowards who hide behind masks – or hoods – when they pick up a torch or a rock.

But what about the guy wearing a wig and a phony mustache because he doesn’t want his boss to know he’s ditched work early to attend a public tailgating party before the big game? What about the guy who's wearing a costume to make a political statement?

Or maybe he dons goggles, a red rubber nose and a phony mustache because hey, this is America, the land of the free.

Under Lawrence’s bill, he’d be guilty of a class six felony, punishable by up to a year in jail.

That would jump to a class two felony “if the person who is wearing the disguise has direct or indirect involvement in an offense involving property damage, injury or death.”

Here's a better way to curb violence

So if you attend a protest wearing a Trump mask and the protest turns violent, you could be going to prison for up to 12.5 years – even if you had nothing to do with the violence.

If Lawrence is truly trying only to put the brakes on violence, then he should propose outlawing the wearing of masks by those who commit crimes, giving them a more severe punishment if they do so while wearing a disguise.

If he's truly trying to prevent violence at political protests, he might want to consider outlawing guns, like the AR-15s I saw protesters carrying at a Trump rally in downtown Phoenix in August.